Hotel Playa Paraiso: Overall good, but bathrooms need major overhaul

Buffet was decent, but after a few days could be a bit repetitive. Overall the resort was a nice getaway. Good pool, good beach. I saw a stingray, crabs, and a number of kinds of fish while swimming fairly close to shore. Goggles are a must! Lots of friendly cats wandering around the resort that you can befriend while visiting. The room was "cheap motel" quality for the most part. An ok but not great bed, quesetionable freezer, and old furniture. Adequate for a budget vacation, but not luxu [... read more]ry for sure. The worst part of the whole experience was the bathroom. It had quite a bit of water damage, and smelled of mold. I kept the door closed to the washroom to avoid stinking up the rest of the room. If the bathroom was renovated to avoid leaks and mold issues, I wouldn't really have any complaints about the whole experience. Everything else was good enough, considering it isn't a very expensive resort.

Grand Aston Cayo Paredon Beach Resort: Great resort

They didn't change the bathroom towels every day, only one time during 7 days, Only replaced water bottle in room once for the entire 7 day stay, had to get water at bar area every time needed but other them that was great hotel

Grand Aston Cayo Paredon Beach Resort: Super clean!

I ve never seen a resort so clean! The staff is the friendliest ever. Food well it's Cuba you will always have something to eat. Some lines are longer but go after the rush . Beach was amazing.loved this resort

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Wonderful Experience!

The grounds are well maintained, and the gardeners really take pride in their work. We enjoyed our walks around the property. There was entertainment throughout the day, which was lively. The workers were always pleasant, smiling, and grateful for gifts. The rooms were clean and spacious. There was plenty of options for dining, buffet (pasta, chicken, beef, pork, fish), several restaurants, pizza, sandwiches, fries, burgers or hot-dogs. I was pleasantly surprised with this resort. My only  [... read more]issue was with the bugs.

Sanctuary White Sands: Beautiful Beach!

Hotel was ok. Didn’t feel new. Needs more staff but I believe resort was at capacity. Long waits at lobby bar. Some staff were inexperienced and also didn’t understand English. Elevator wasn’t working. Beach is lovely but lacks more palapas. Had to go early to reserve lounger with towels or risk not getting one. Found many guests were putting towels on pool and beach loungers to ensure they had a spot each place which seems so unfair. Definitely need more of them. Food was decent for Cuba. A la  [... read more]carte restaurants weren’t worth waiting in line to get a reservation. Same food as buffet basically. Stick to buffet and go when you want as opposed to 8:30 or some insane time. Crazy thing is they weren’t half full even though we asked to go earlier. Made no sense. Not a lot of entertainment in evenings. Bring cards or games. Beds comfortable. Shower nice. Rooms decent although we didn’t have a working lock on our door. Beautiful pool although we didn’t use it and it was a bit cold but that’s just the weather. For the price we paid it was ok but if you expect more I’d say go to a well established resort with great experienced staff. Been to Melia Cayo Coco a few times and found it was worth paying more for but that was many years ago. This place needs time and experience to improve. All in all it’s worth a try. Can’t beat the price for the amazing beach.

Melia Costa Rey: Awesome Resort

This is a great resort! The entertainment crew were amazing! The lobby bar was amazing! The rooms were clean and spacious! The pool and beach were wonderful, just wish there was a little more shade in the pool area! I will definitely be back!

Grand Aston Cayo Paredon Beach Resort: Awesome resort

The resort was huge and very family oriented. Beautiful white sand turquoise water beach and with the help of our friend Alfredo who provided lounge chairs for us for a small fee. The room was clean, comfortable and everything we needed. Including bottled water and beer in the fridge. We enjoyed the snack bar down at the beach and they provide the best oven roasted pizza and cappuccinos. Don't drink the coffee in the buffet area. not the best.. The food was good despite a food shortage. I would  [... read more]say take only what you eat. It was disappointing to see lot's of untouched food taken by people left on the table when the economy is hurting in Cuba. Lots of pools and entertainment if wanted. I would definetly recommend this resort and I would come back again.

Gran Muthu Imperial: Recommend!

The resort was very well kept and the people were very nice. The rooms itself were older and there were flaws, such as broken knobs, but nothing to discourage your stay. Whatever you do - make sure you take the $5 cab ride to the beach - it will blow you away. The food was okay really, and not bad at all. You will not go hungry. Recommend bringing hot sauce and salt/spices if you can't do bland food but there was an omelette, pasta and pizza stations and a meat and seafood grill. The two  [... read more]beaches on the resort were nice too.

Iberostar Selection Esmeralda: Great resort

The rooms and hotel are absolutely beautiful. Beaches are excellent and you can take long walks. The staff were also great. The food in the a la carte was delicious at the buffet it was repeat of stuff and wasn't always that great but it's Cuba you always find something to eat. Our fridge wasn't filled once in the week but they did leave water bottles

Iberostar Coral Esmeralda: Very good resort.

Excellent location. Nice layout and good for seniors. Food Ok but not noteworthy. Would return. Enjoyed peacefulness and sun. Great price. Ariel provided great Bultler service. All staff were great and very friendly.

Melia Cayo Coco: Melia Cayo Coco Feb. 1st 2025

Melia Cayo Coco, Cuban trip was simply amazing. My husband and I would certainly give it a 5++ - the grounds, rooms, lobby, washrooms and buffet was extremely clean. - all 3 meals were very good with a large variety each day. - now, the staff-- they went over and beyond their duties!! with genuine kindness and love. It was like they knew what we needed before we did. - we are seniors and we could not have ask for better entertainment. NO loud music around the pool or at any ti [... read more]me. It was always live, soft music with live, top quality entertainment such as violin, guitar and saxaphone music. This was even at the pool in the afternoon. - the beach was clean and they had a bbq. every day at noon. Lots of chairs and not crowded. - this was the best vacation we had been on in years. Also, this resort is only 15 mins from airport! A big thank you to our TripCentral rep. - Robyn Murray. She was always available to answer our questions.

Grand Aston Cayo Paredon Beach Resort: Great Experience

The Grand Aston is a newer resort. It was very clean and modern. The staff were excellent, both friendly and hard working. The food was okay. Lots of repetition but we didn't have any problem finding something to eat. Desserts were great. Fantastic stretch of beach. We didn't spend any time at the pools but they looked very clean. The resort was very well laid out. It didn't take us very long to get to any one spot. We would go back again.

Grand Aston Cayo Paredon Beach Resort: Awesome resort

We just returned from a week at this amazing resort. We were in building 11 so was right beside the pool and main walkway to beach which was the most beautiful beach. The resort is only a couple of years old and everything is new and clean. Fresh eggs and bread everyday for breakfast. A good choice of food at meals in the buffet. Johana and Deylania were great servers at lunch and breakfast in the buffet and Anabel was great at dinner time in the buffet. They were very friendly and helpful and  [... read more]always smiled and greeted us as soon as we walked in the door. Would like to send them a cheerful hello. The resort also has a beach bar that has amazing pizza. Your choice from plain to meat to veggies. I would suggest to get there at noon as the line starts to build up for serving at 12:30pm. And the family/kids pool area also has amazing poutine. There was always something to eat.. There is lots of places to get drinks and beer too with a great choice of drinks. I would recommend they put more staff on the lobby bar as the lobby itself is very large and actually 3 rooms and usually only 2 staff. So if you go to the bar I would say grab double of drinks because it can be quite a long wait at times. The main pool has actually 3 pools. Which it is a place where you must go by 6-6:30 and put your towels on chairs because there is not many and if you go later they will all be gone or already saved. So we had to do that even though we spend the morning at the beach. The beach is very long and beautiful. Lots of chairs there and always someone there to assist you. I would say it is probably 60-70%french speaking also. The shuttle to the resort was quick, only about 25 min. There was always some kind of entertainment in the lobby at night also but if you wanted something quieter there is the 24 hr. sport club. I would highly recommend this resort to couples and families. I will be returning, hopefully very soon.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Great Beach and staff

Very attentive staff , enjoyed beach beauty, the a la cart meals Asian was best ,met Canadians and even French speaking All were friendly -not like in Dominican-, buffet food was very good and little shy of fruit variety but always a fresh juice available,rose wine available as an option at all evening meals , white wine was great niot too dry,snack bar - had some supply issues the menu was limited and chicken sandwich was very good, beverages- a little light on alcohol too much ice sometimes [... read more], Rooms need a little finishing touches but A/C worked and beds comfortable, t least 4 english channels on TV,

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Amazing Time

We spent a week at the resort at the end of January 2025. Everything was above our expectations having travelled many times to Cuba. Rooms were clean, the grounds are beautiful, food was above expectations and the beach was utterly breathtaking.

Grand Aston Cayo Paredon Beach Resort: Grand Aston Cayo Paredon-3 Star Hotel (In My Opinion)

Review and Personal Experience of the GRAND ASTON CAYO PAREDON-Travel Date Jan 30-Feb 6-2025 Overall, I rate this hotel a 3 max, nowhere near a 5-Star hotel even by Cuban standards!! If your only expectations are to go to the beach, be on a diet, drink alcohol and swim in the pool at a reasonable price then this is perfect for you. But if you are willing to invest a few hundred more for better food and a far better experience more like a 5-Star hotel should be than I strongly recommend  [... read more]NOT going to this hotel as you will be sadly disappointed. See Below for Details: Upon arrival at the airport, it took 3 hours to get to the hotel and be fully checked in. I arrived at the airport at approximately 830pm, and the resort is a 20 min from the airport. I was the first on the bus and finally around 1045pm we left the airport. Once at the resort, the check in took about 45 minutes and I was finally checked in after 11pm at approximately 1130pm. Once at the Resort, I was given a non-alcoholic beverage, this I thought was odd considering this is supposed to be a 5-star hotel. Any 5-star hotel I have been too in the past in Cuba, Jamaica, Dominican, Mexico etc. I was greeted with both options, alcohol, or non-alcohol. Once I went to the check in and got checked in there was absolutely NO INFORMATION given to me, this was another indication to me that this 5-star rating was under rated. I was given a room key and no instructions on anything. No map given, no intro about the Resort and/or information about the hotel. Just brought to room by the bell boy and that’s it. The Room: My room was clean and basic, but a few things that I thought were odd, was there no plush towels and no face clothes and NO BAR or Alcohol other than 2 beers in the fridge! I haver never been to a 5-Star rated hotel and not had alcohol hanging off the wall with at least 4-5 bottles. But it gets worse, the mini bar had 2 cokes, 2 waters and 2 beers which was fine with me, however after drinking the cokes I called downstairs on the 3rd day because I noticed that the cokes had not been restocked and was advised that I ONLY get coke/beer upon arrival and ONLY water after that, once again this is supposed to be a 5-Star hotel how is this even possible!? My hotel room door had to be SLAMMED using extreme and excessive force and this had to be done multiple times using a great amount of force just to close it properly and ensure it was locked. My chain lock on the room door was broken and fell off a few days after arriving so there was no added security while I was sleeping. If you want your sheets changed, make sure to throw them on the ground or they will just come and re-make your bed. Never once did they mop the floor in the room that I could tell. My so-called ocean view was more of a distant ocean view with construction of another hotel in the background. Resort Bathrooms: Most of Bathrooms on the resort when using a private stall could NOT lock so forget privacy while using the bathrooms outside of your hotel room, this was not a good look. The Bathroom by pool par, the urinal was flooded with urine, and it overflowed on the floor and was left that way for 3 days despite several complaints, this meant that you would be walking into a urine filled bathroom that was not even mopped up and forced me to use another bathroom to avoid stepping in a pool of urine. The Buffet: Breakfast was absolutely the same every single day and there is only one buffet. There were no pancakes, no bagels, no sausages, no scrambled eggs, none of the basics that you would expect at a buffet on a resort, much less one that is rated 5-Star. In fact, 99% of what was being offered for breakfast/dinner to me personally did not even look edible, so therefore I did not eat it. The best option was eggs and fruits plus mango juice, the eggs you can have a chef make it but expect to line up every morning for at least a min of 30 minutes. The serviettes were one ply tissue folded into 4, once you wipe your face one time the serviette is of no use and must be disposed of, any 5-star resort I have ever been too INCLUDING Cuba would normally provide for you a reusable, washable serviette. At Dinner, your best option is pasta, ice cream and fruits. Everything on the menu from breakfast to dinner was always the same and for me personally inedible. Line ups are expected for eggs, pasta, and bread. Ketchup at the buffet was literally watered down. The Beach: The beach water was cold and rough every day and it was windy while I was there, so if you have children, you must keep a close eye on them. The water was actually too cold to swim in as well, this has nothing to do with the Resort but just putting it out there if someone chooses to travel there maybe consider the time of year and possibly what the weather will be like during this time, especially if you love ocean water like me. On the beach there was only one visible lifeguard to service the entire beach. Other people were with him, but nothing indicate they were lifeguards (i.e. no shirt stating they were a lifeguard) as well And he never once did they walk the beach, swim at your own risk. At the Beach Bar the internet went down on the 3rd day and was not fixed for the remainder of my stay, the router stopped working, sop there was no internet at that Bar. Snack bar by the beach had better food. The pizza however was tasteless. The pizza gets served at 1230-1pm not sure why people are lining up for it, and the line up to get the pizza was on average 45 minutes. To me personally it had no flavour, not even a garlic spread. There was two days where they had a BBQ set up, the chicken took forever to cook because the grill was not hot enough, so they ended up just serving hot dogs, they were delicious considering my diet while there otherwise, but be sure to arrive on time or they will run out of hot dogs. There are No waiters or waitresses on the beach itself, only the beach bar you will get service, but not by a waiter or waitress it is self serve buffet or line up for the pizza. The Pool Bar: Pool bar is great, great service and drinks. All the Staff amongst the entire resort were very pleasant, they never asked for tips or made you feel like you would not be served properly if you did not provide a tip. There were No vendors or hagglers at the beach which was great. If you want a lawn chair by the pool you must arrive super early like 8am or earlier. Bring your own cups because their cups are so small and with ice, you’d finish your drink before you even sit down, they also use cardboard cups so if you do not intend on drinking your beverage right away the cup will become soggy. Music by the pool is all in Spanish maybe one English song of this matters to anyone. I do not mind some Spanish, but I believe considering you are catering to foreigners it should have more English music being played. Pool bar closes at 5pm, in my experience that is early usually a pool bar will shut down at 6-630pm. Towels: You can only get towels from about 10am-1pm, then again from 2-5pm. If you wait too long, they run out of clean towels, so get there early and hold on to your towel till the end of the day. Lobby Bar: Entertainment is all by the lobby bar, makes no sense to me. All the entertainment seemed amateur no real professional entertainment. No Michael Jackson shows. The lobby bar is generally very busy and loud. Snack Bar-By the Pool: Snack bar by the pool only has 3 items, ham and cheese, chicken sandwich (which is processed chicken like you would get at Costco), and fries. No hamburgers or hot dogs. In fact, I never once saw hamburgers anywhere. The Resort: There is only a very small store that sells alcohol and a few other items on the resort, plus a couple of stands. There is another store off the resort, you must pay a bell boy to bring you there but the alcohol in my opinion has skyrocketed. I have NEVER paid more than $10-12 USD for basic Cuban rum, now at the resort even at the airport they are charging min $25USD for basic 3-year-old rum, brown rum and anything that is less than 8 years old, if you want better or older rum you are looking at 50+$USD per bottle. This is the first time every traveling and I have not bought rum, even in Jamaica the rum was $11USD and this is 63% over proof, way overpriced! If you like cigars there’s a man that comes and makes them and sells for $10USD each, however in the 7 days I was there I only saw this guy once, better to ask the reception what day he is going to be there if you are interested. There is only one buffet 2 snack bars one by the pool the other by the beach, this is a small resort. The best rum I had while on the resort was Havana Club 3-year-old rum and the Santiago which is known to be one of the better Cuban rums. Don’t expect any fancy drinks, and the only soda they have is sprite, Fanta orange and Cola/diet cola Excursions: The one excursion I went on was good, but a bit pricey $90 USD, but it’s to be expected. It was the catamaran. The boat was very small if you choose to see the dolphins because it hosts less people. Staff was very friendly, open bar help yourself. We went snorkelling and we stopped to swim in the Atlantic Ocean which was awesome the water was only waist deep. Afterwards I went to see dolphins and after that lobster dinner. It was mediocre no real flavour. There is however another excursion that I was told by another traveler that was much better it has the buggy ride, catamaran, visit with the alligators it is better than the regular catamaran I am told. Second excursion was at what they call the lighthouse. Cost was $40USD for lobster dinner, $60USD if you want a 25 minute massage. The hotel staff will drive you on a cart 15 mins to the restaurant, nothing special just lobster dinner with rice no desert and only alcoholic drinks are wine and beer. It was mediocre but a chance to get away from the hotel. Cayo Paredon Airport: Be sure to eat big before you leave the Resort because the Cayo Paredon airport only has one restaurant and they only serve hot dogs, and cheese sandwiches (NO HAM). It costs $9USD and if traveling late like I did at 10pm, they will run out of food.

Sanctuary White Sands: Beautiful resort

This resort was gorgeous. It was incredibly well laid out with the pool running down the centre of the resort between all of the rooms. The pool was clean at all times and there was a very gradual walk in which was great. The beach was well maintained and you could go for a long walk if you chose to. The food was excellent. Yes, it got a little repetitive, but that is to be expected. There was always fresh fruit, several meats to choose from and stations where food was being prepared for y [... read more]ou. Overall, a great experience.

Iberostar Coral Esmeralda: Very Satisfied!

We found this hotel to be as advertised. The whole facility was new feeling, from the rooms to the public areas. Cleanliness was very good. The food was good for Cuba. No real serious shortages that we noticed. The staff very friendly as you would expect in Cuba. One of the main reasons we continue to travel to Cuba. The beach was great as is usual in Cuba. This small adults only had a boutique feel and low keyed which we loved.Our only real issue was food temperature. The food was fine but not  [... read more]very hot in the buffet. Generally a great week without food shortages and power outages that have been prominent in the news.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Loved this resort!

This place was absolutely beautiful. The staff we amazing. The grounds were emaculate and so well kept. The food was normal for Cuba. We never went hungry. The rooms were clean. The hotel was a perfect size so you didn't have to do an abundance of walking. Some shells on the beach when walking into the water. Bring water shoes if it's a bother to you. They can't exchange change (loonies and twoonies). Don't bring it. Use $5, $10 and any amount of your choice for Tipping in Canadian. However, if  [... read more]you want to tip smaller amounts, bring $1 American bills. Staff kept asking me to purchase their change because they can't use it. So it's a waste of money for them, and a waste to you. Pool bar had pizza, sandwiches, and fries.

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Great while awake , no chance of sleep …

The entertainment staff was absolutely amazing , the energy there is also great . The problems I had was my room had no air conditioning and was impossible to sleep in. I went to ask for someone to fix it and they couldn’t and their resolution was for me to relocate to another resort next door. Food was good and a good selection. Beach is amazing and a nice pool. Again I got unlucky with my room but the lack of problem solving is the main issue .